FIA reject Ferrari request for review of Sainz's Melbourne penalty

Spanish driver was handed five-second penalty that cost him fourth place at Australian GP

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz at the Australian GP on April 2, 2023. Getty

Formula One stewards dismissed Ferrari's petition to review Carlos Sainz's penalty, which cost him fourth place at the Australian Grand Prix.

The stewards who made the original decision in Melbourne held a virtual meeting on Tuesday to decide whether to grant a review of the five second sanction.

Sainz was given the penalty for crashing into Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso after a restart. The race finished on a safety car lap, so the time penalty pushed Sainz down to last of the 12 finishers and he scored no points.

According to rules, for a review to happen Ferrari needed to present the hearing with a "significant and relevant new element".

The stewards decided that Ferrari, who offered telemetry and witness statements from Sainz and other drivers, had failed to do that.

"There is no significant and relevant new element which was unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned. The petition is therefore dismissed," they said in a statement.

Sainz was deemed "wholly to blame" for a collision with Alonso, who ended up third, at the final restart.

The penalty meant Ferrari drew a blank from the third race of the season after Charles Leclerc retired on the opening lap.

Ferrari issued their own statement after the rejection of their petition, accepting the decision while stressing they would seek further talks aimed at "improving the policing" in Formula One.

"We acknowledge the FIA decision not to grant us a right of review in relation to the penalty imposed on Carlos Sainz at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix," it read.

"We are naturally disappointed, and felt that we had provided sufficient significant new elements for the FIA to re-examine the decision, especially in the context of the particular conditions and multiple incidents that occurred during the final restart.

"We are, however, respectful of the process and of the FIA decision. We are now looking forward to entering broader discussions with the FIA, F1 and all the teams, with the aim of further improving the policing of our sport, in order to ensure the highest level of fairness and consistency that our sport deserves."